No One Else Is Like Us… So Are We Truly of This World?

When we hear the term “alien,” a familiar image rushes to mind:
a strange-looking creature, gray-skinned, wide-eyed, moving through galaxies in a shimmering ship and speaking in incomprehensible sounds.

But what if the real alien… is you?
Not in your body – but in the consciousness that inhabits it?

Science defines an “alien” as any being that originated and evolved outside the planet Earth, regardless of its physical form or biology.
And if we look at humans from this angle, we find that the human body did indeed evolve here – on Earth – shaped by its elements, carrying a long genetic history that overlaps astonishingly with other living beings.

Bones, muscles, vital organs, the nervous system… all display striking similarities to many other species.
In fact, chimpanzees share nearly 98.8% of our DNA.

All of this may seem like definitive evidence that humans are purely terrestrial beings.
But that only speaks for the body.

Once we shift from body to consciousness, all comparisons begin to collapse.
There is no living creature on this planet that comes remotely close to human awareness.

No being asks:
“Who am I?”
“Why do I exist?”

No being judges itself morally, writes novels, composes music with no survival value, or gazes into the stars asking:
“Is there something beyond all this?”

Even the most intelligent animals studied – dolphins, crows, octopuses – display impressive behaviors, but all are clever reactions within a limited sensory context.
None show signs of abstraction, existential concepts, or the ability to transcend biological programming.

Human consciousness doesn’t merely exceed others by degree…
It leaps into an entirely different category – as if it emerged from another path altogether.

This cognitive gap is not just an evolutionary difference.
It is a question that casts doubt on science itself:

If human intelligence arose through a long process of natural development –
then where are the intermediate stages?
Where are the transitional minds?
Where is the half-human, half-animal awareness?

There is none.
There never was.
And no evidence has ever suggested otherwise.

This phenomenon is often referred to as “the cognitive singularity of humankind” –
a leap that has no solid biological explanation.
Human consciousness appeared – suddenly, almost fully-formed – recording history, preserving memory, and evolving faster than any natural process could have predicted.

From here emerges a compelling philosophical idea:
Perhaps the human body did evolve on Earth as science suggests,
or – just as plausibly – it was specially designed to match the environment of this planet:
gravity, pressure, breathing, light, food, even death.

But the “self”… the abstract observer, the dreamer, the questioner, the one who fears nonexistence – was never from here.

This idea aligns with what many religious traditions agree upon:
that the first human – Adam – was not created on Earth,
but in a different realm altogether.
Then, along with Eve, he was moved – or descended – to Earth,
to begin a new form of existence, bound by time, labor, and experience.

And there is no definitive description in the sacred texts – across all major faiths –
that clearly defines what bodily form Adam and Eve were created in,
which opens a fascinating possibility:

Maybe their forms weren’t fully “earthly” to begin with.
Maybe the body was altered after the descent,
or maybe it was originally constructed to be compatible with Earth,
because the journey downward – was always meant to happen.

Your body knows the Earth –
but it cannot explain why you feel like a stranger here.

That gnawing restlessness,
the longing for what cannot be seen,
the cry for a beginning…
it is not a psychological condition –
but an ancient echo.

Perhaps we are not children of the Earth –
but travelers who found themselves in it,
looking around,
finding no one quite like them.